StarCraft: Sons of Plunder
by StarryEyedLight
Summary: Amidst the chaos of the Second Great War, a scientific monopoly known as Anschluss makes a bold move – its leader Professor Cornelius orders the kidnapping of one of the most powerful strains of Zerg in existence: a Brood Mother.
1. Chapter 1

Char Beta wasn't a particularly welcoming planet. The database showed it as a remote, volcanic world similar in almost every way to the original Char. The minute difference being that Char Beta had a barren, desert band around its equatorial zone. Countless volcanoes pump thick plumes of smoke and ash into its thick atmosphere, creating a powerful greenhouse effect.

As if the world wasn't hot enough.

The only benefit to Char Beta was that it lacked the sufficient amount of Zerg that Char itself was plagued with. It was an oddity, as all sorts of factions from the enigmatic Protoss and power-hungry Terran vied for control of Char Beta. It was littered with resources, from geysers of vespene to high-density mineral resources.

But the taint of the Swarm knows no bounds.

An independent scientific research monopoly had, three months ago, taken up residence on Char Beta. 'Anschluss' it was called, led by a Professor Reimund Cornelius – an ex-confederate scientist. He privately funded three mining outposts on the desert band, and used the credits pouring in from those exploits to finance the creation of Anschluss Station, a growing town with its own private military.

Deep under it, Cornelius had a massive secret laboratory constructed. The only hint of its existence was the equally large communication dish protruding from the side of 'Maskar's Cliff' – a rather treacherous rock face that overlooked the entire settlement and the large exhaust vents permeating the ground. This had, however been explained as ventilation for the settlement's underground generator.

And it is here, where all hell begins…

* * *

**CHAR BETA**

The quaking that re-entry caused always put Gaul on edge. For four years had had dealt with it as a loyal Dominion marine, dropping into hot zones that were crawling with either nasty Zerg creatures or unwavering Protoss Zealots. In those four years, he had convinced himself that eventually he'd stop caring. He'd realize that the shaking was natural and really he should be far more concerned with what was waiting for him planet-side, but it never worked.

He never shook his fear.

Funny thing that his fear eventually caused his abandonment of the Dominion.

And somehow it had landed him under the employment of Professor Cornelius, a man that a great many considered mad. Gaul didn't put much thought into that though, he was under the impression that everyone in command these days had a screw loose or two, primary example:

Jim Raynor, the leader of Raynor's Raiders – was rumoured to be working on a full scale assult on Char. He was going after the Queen of Blades and planned on ending the Zerg threat.

As if sensing his thoughts, the cargo he and a few others were ordered to guard snarled from inside the one and a half meter long, solid neosteel container in the center of the dropship's bay. Gaul frowned inside his helmet and lightly kicked the side of the large box.

"Shut yer trap." Gaul growled, and went back to his thoughts.

The Queen of Blades – there was another loony.

Her appearance would suggest she was an infested human, but she wasn't like the others Gaul had had the 'pleasure' of running into. Most he saw were the bulbous, puss-eyed freaks that groaned and haphazardly charged at anyone they deemed a threat (which was _anything_) and the slightly more sophisticated ones that had recently been appearing on the battlefield. Nope, she was all sorts of different. She would almost be attractive if it wasn't for that mad look in her eye and her sheer determination to rip a man's face off.

Another low growl from the cargo, and Gaul found himself once again drawn back to the dark grey box.

It was just over a meter tall; with a small control panel on what was presumably the front of it (though to be honest most of the box looked the same). On either of its long sides, it bore the logo of Anschluss; an eagle designed in a very basic, military way with its head facing the right, its wings stretched upwards and curving into a circle. In the clutches of its talons was a solid ring, with a smooth figure-eight infinity symbol inside that.

Almost everything nowadays in the backwater reaches of the Koprulu Sector had that eagle on it. Cornelius had been quick to get his hands into everything, ensuring funds for whatever he did with his spare time.

Gaul's frown turned into a grimace. If the 'precious' cargo was any hint of Cornelius' interests, he didn't want to be on Char Beta for any longer than necessary.

The dropship bore no colourization associated with the popular factions. It was a crisp white, with the Anschluss Eagle boldly displayed on top of that paint job in a matte black. It hurried down through the sky, going unnoticed by the relatively reclusive Protoss tribe inhabiting the band with their wary Terran neighbours and swung wide, disappearing into a canyon.

This wasn't standard approach for vessels usually seeking to touch down in Anschluss, the pilots didn't announce their presence to any control tower, nor seek permission to be in the Professor's airspace – it was just generally accepted.

If the ships approach from the north, and disappear into the canyon – they are to be left alone. No questions asked.

The two pilots didn't speak to their passengers, and barely even noted each other's existences. They weren't paid to make friends – they were to make a quick drop from the battlecruiser _Beschützer _to the landing bay at the rear of the science facility and nothing else.

"Erschaffer Facility, this is vessel T-7, Anschluss dropship APOD-33 class. We are requesting permission to land." The pilot's voice was flat and to the point, she had a no-nonsense vibe about her.

_"Relay your authorization codes."_

The pilot who spoke looked nearly indistinguishable from the rear pilot, who was focusing on the three screens in front of him that were displaying real-time updates of the terrain and communication channels. Both wore flight suits that were black and their faces were hidden behind large helmets with what looked like cumbersome heads-up displays. They nodded to each other.

"Codes being delivered now."

_"Stand-by."_

This was something else Gaul hated, the ominous delay between the codes being sent and the facility authenticating it. The marine always felt like one day, the codes would be wrong, and they'd be blasted out of the sky.

This entire canyon was rumoured to be a minefield of anti-aircraft weaponry.

_"The landing platform is being extended. You are permitted one hour to rest and refuel."_

"Acknowledged."

The APOD-33 dropship was, in short, a brick with two engines strapped onto the sides. And it flew just about as well as that image implies. Landing was considered successful if the aircraft didn't break, and if everyone survived it. Gaul had been in plenty of crashes that he swore were smoother than the actual 'landings' these birds were capable of.

Gaul looked at his team, three others like him. Brutish marines with just enough brains to abandon the Dominion as the Emperor decided to throw all he's got at the Queen of Blades.

He supposed that like the pilots, they were indistinguishable to the untrained eye as well. All of them wore CMC-300 powered combat suits, and their colourization was the same. Mixed in with the cool steel of most of the armor were white plates, their right shoulder mounts all displayed the Anschluss Eagle proudly.

"Alright," Gaul spoke finally as he felt the dropship touch down with the same amount of grace as a crashing space station. "Y'all know the drill. Deliver the cargo, get back to the ship. Don't. Touch. Anything." Gaul looked towards the farthest marine; he had a black star on his left shoulder plate. "Got that Earl?"

"I didn't break nuthin'."

"I'll break your god damn face if you wander off again, understood?"

"Yeah, I get it."

"Skiv, you keep an eye on him."

The largest of the four simply bowed his head; Skiv had never been big on words. Gaul looked at the one guy he probably count on, Red. There was a slight reddish hue to his friend's visor, which was the only differentiation from the rest.

"You alright Red? You've been quiet the whole ride down."

Not that anyone could tell, but Red had been eyeballing the cargo the entire trip. This was wrong, everything about this was wrong. Every shipment they delivered here was strange, but this…

This reminded him of the Jacobs Installation.

"Talk 'bout it later boss, right now, we gotta deliver our lil' friend 'ere."

Skiv assigned himself and Earl to carry the container as Gaul took the lead and Red brought up the rear. Earl complained about the weight of the cargo, as if he actually felt any of its heft – Red was quick to silence him. Their powered suits did all the heavy lifting; all they had to do was operate it. Earl had apparently never worked in a space construction vehicle, otherwise known as an SCV. The rest of them had, they had long stopped complaining about the weight that made an alarm beep in their suits and instead picked up bickering over the inevitability of war and the Zerg.

Every time they delivered something, it was the same procedure. They departed from the APOD-33 and went straight for the main entrance. Sometimes the bulkhead door was up, blocking any view into the interior, other times, like this time, there was a large door with a metal frame holding thick, blast proof glass. Inside were the 'personal guard' of the facility, marines with slightly better armor and black visors. They were perfectly still, never moving unless it was required.

Unlike every other time though, in this instance a woman greeted them.

Specifically a ghost operative. Her sex was only revealed because the hostile environment suit she wore clung to her toned body. Her lithe frame was covered in a sleek, white skinsuit with glowing psi-sensitive bands interlaced. Silver 'armor' portions covered her chest, lower legs and arms. Her face was hidden by an eerie mask that was white, most of it probably made out of the same material as the rest of the suit. Around her eyes and nose seemed to be harder, specialized goggles with high tech lenses and sensor equipment.

The reticles of her eyes glowed blue. Like the psi-sensitive bands they were a bright, vivid near-aqua.

Gaul frowned. He didn't like when things differentiated from the usual plan, especially here. As the massive glass blockade hissed and began to lower, he could feel the tension not only from his squad, but from the woman.

He could have cut it with a knife.

Not one to be intimidated, even by a ghost, Gaul stepped forward and was followed by his men. He paused only when he was a few feet from the woman.

She moved her head ever so slightly, but he could tell she was now staring at the cargo. Then her stare flicked back to him with another subtle movement.

"There's a lift at the end of corridor, turn left and you'll see it." Her voice was distorted by the mask, it sounded autonomous Almost like an adjutant.

Gaul hesitated. "Our orders were to drop it on yer doorstep."

"Your orders have changed." The way the sentence left her tongue meant there was going to be no argument. Either they did it, or they died.

"Yes ma'am." He conceded to it, and issued the men to follow.

Something was wrong here, but he knew it was too late to do anything about it now.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAR BETA**

**ERSCHAFFER FACILITY**

* * *

"Boss, what are we doin'?" Earl's voice had a slight shake to it. Obviously the danger of the situation hadn't escaped his peewee of a brain. "Thought you said we're never supposed to go in this place."

Gaul didn't look back at Earl. "The lady didn't leave much room to argue."

"One bitch has us ditchin' our orders?"

While the danger this facility possessed hadn't escaped Earl, the lethality of any ghost operative had. Ghosts were lone operatives and assassins, the best of the best, and brutally trained since childhood to be ready for any situation. They underwent memory wipes and had chips implanted in their skulls to limit freedom. They were, for all intents and purposes, the most dangerous human beings running around this sector.

And that one had given Gaul a very dark vibe.

"Shut yer trap Earl," Gaul shot back, this time putting in the effort to make his suit turn, so he could properly glare at the star-bearing moron. "She's a ghost and our superior, she gives ya an order, you do it. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"I mean it, Earl." Their leader didn't drop the subject. "Ya wanna live, you do whatever she says."

"Yes sir…" The youngest of the four grumbled.

Red remained quiet, as they reached the elevator he stepped forward and pressed the button. They heard the moan of the lift rising from deep below. It would take a minute or two for it to reach them. Grabbing Gaul's arm, he pulled his commander to the side and lifted his visor.

Red was a man who looked about in his forties, with hair a mix of black and grey that matched his beard stared at the reflective golden visor of Gaul. Gaul hesitated, before his let his own visor click and release, revealing his own features. He was years younger than Red, with brown eyes and brown hair that was buzzed short. His face was clean-shaven for the most part, though stubble was beginning to creep in.

"What's wrong?" Gaul knew that look. It was that look that had kept him from facing his dropship fear that day, the one that had made him and Red flee from Dominion controlled space.

"You ever heard of the Jacobs Installation?"

Gaul's expression answered the older man; it was a definite 'no'.

Red frowned but continued, his voice beginning to lower to a whisper. "Confederate facility. I helped Raynor break into it when he was still workin' with Mengsk. Bad place - experimentin' on Zerg."

"What?" Gaul's began to worry.

"So you're gettin' it now?" Red asked. He was desperately trying not to alert the others to his worries. "This entire place is wrong."

"Hey," Earl, oblivious to the two's rather serious discussion, decided to tighten the noose threatening to hang him. "She was hot though, right?"

Gaul blinked. Had Earl really just gone there after that warning he'd given him? His visor lowered back down into place and he slowly turned to face the moron. "What?"

"That chick - the ghost. She was one sweet piece of ass."

Red couldn't hold his tongue. "Boy, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"Whatever."

"Trouble." Skiv stated, looking back in the direction of the woman.

"That's right," Gaul pointed at Skiv for a second . "He's right, she's trouble. Stay away from her. An' for the love of god, Earl, don't hit on 'er."

"What if she comes onta me?"

Red and Gaul both laughed and neared the entrance to the elevator as the lift reached the top. They watched heavy doors begin to slide open, permitting them access; Red glanced back at Earl and shook his head.

"Earl, if she hits on ya, I'll give ya all the credits I own."

If there was ever a time that the team felt like they were descending into hell, this would be it. Gaul recalled the times he had been dropped into battles with any number of enemies. Those places were graveyards, soaked in the blood of warriors from any of the races. Often there were innocents caught in the crossfire, civilians that got in the way of a dragoon's plasma blast or some poor woman being dragged away by the ravenous zerg. Sometimes it was even humans killing humans, unhappy populations trying to rise against their oppressors.

They were gunned down; Gaul knew that – hell he had done it before.

Maybe it was right that he was here.

The creature in the container started snarling and growling. It probably sensed the shift in the atmosphere. It knew something wasn't right, or maybe it could sense the team's impending doom so it was getting all excited. Either way, it was throwing one hell of a fit when the lift came to a short stop and the elevator doors opened. The walls here were a crisp white. Men and women in lab coats regarded Gaul and his team with little interest; they weren't paid to make friends.

To them the marines were just faceless bodies; nameless and worthless unless they were providing the scientific community with a new subject.

Well they were in for one hell of a subject.

The group paused. The ghost hadn't said which room to take it to. They were lost in a sea of science and white.

"This way," one of the scientists took pity on them, gesturing for the four to haul the cargo in his direction. "Follow me."

Following was one thing they were good at, and they did it well.

They were led into a large room. It was filled with desks and tables, and had a large glass room off to the left. Gaul regarded the glass section with mild curiousity. It resembled an observation room, appropriate given where they were. There was a small extension, probably used in releasing specimens into the glass chamber. It was the perfect shape for the container they carried and as he expected, the scientist instructed them to place the box there and lock it in. They swivelled the cargo around and locked in it backwards as it were, with the control panel on the box facing them. There was a hiss and then a grunt as the automated system accepted it.

"Wait here," the scientist ordered them, and paused at the door. "Please don't touch anything."

As he vanished, they spread apart. Not touching but investigating.

Equipment that Gaul couldn't even fathom was before him. Tables you would find in the morgue were lined against one bleak wall, which was made entirely of refrigerated storage. Gaul didn't need to guess what was stored inside if the tables were any hint. Others were simply just desks with microscopes, scanners, equipment any self-respecting scientist or doctor would need. But there was a smaller room, towards the back, past the empty glass enclosure that made him draw nearer.

The door that barred him access was thick and probably made of neosteel. There was a small, rectangular glass window that granted the marine limited sight to what was beyond. And from what he could tell, it was an extremely complicated room. A metal bed was in the center, mounted on what looked like a lift of some sort that joined into the wall. There was a medical cart beside that, although it was bare of any needles or utensils. But the table had metal cuffs and strong leather straps.

"Vhut is zat old saying?" A very distinct accent met Gaul's ears and he turned around. In the lab's entrance was a man that was an even six feet tall. He stood with perfect posture in a silver and black uniform, accented by a white lab coat. "Curiosity killed ze cat?" Piercing blue eyes somehow met Gaul's and the marine inwardly wavered.

If this was hell, he had just met the devil.

He didn't want to apologize, but here, Gaul would put aside his pride. "Sorry."

The man's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the apology before he decided to enter fully. He maneuvered past Earl and walked straight for the console next to the glass room.

"Whaddaya need a zerglin' for?"

Every marine stopped and stared at Earl. Slowly, the scientist who had entered turned and faced him, a smirk playing to his lips. "Vhut is your name?"

Gaul wanted to scream at Earl to lie, but he doubted the man understood how.

"Earl Hudgkins."

"Ah, vell Mister Hudgkins, I require ze zergling for an experiment." He paused, that smirk turning into a malicious smile. "Vould you like to know vich experiment?"

The evil of that smile didn't escape Earl, he backed off. "No, sir."

"Oh?" He turned back to the control panel. "I see... Your little mind could not grasp vhat I am doing."

Before Earl could reply in any fashion, Red interjected. "Forgive me sir, but who are you?"

"Oh, did she not brief you on who you vere meeting?"

"No," Red replied, holding his rifle uncomfortably. "She didn't."

"Ah, vell, 88 has always been a funny vun." He turned to face the four marines, undaunted by their stature or weaponry. "I am Professor Cornelius, your employer."

Everyone straightened up a bit.

"Hm," he obviously took note of that.

As silence fell over the lab, that's when the ghost entered. '88' as Cornelius had called her. She had a large rifle slung over her shoulder and her face was still hidden behind her mask. She didn't look at anyone in particular as she entered, though her attention suddenly became fixed on Cornelius.

Gaul couldn't help but wonder if she was reading their minds, if maybe the Professor was speaking to her mentally and ordering their deaths.

88's attention was quickly on Gaul.

_Oh crap._

But nothing happened. Her attention slowly drew back to Cornelius who then decided to acknowledge the group again.

"You may go. But you, Mister Hudgkins," he looked at Earl, "you vill stay. You vere curious after all."

Gaul knew at that moment that Earl was looking to him for help, but there was nothing he could do. The idiot had gotten himself into whatever mess this was,and it would be foolish for the other three to try and save him. They were smart enough to realize 88 could kill all of them in a blink of an eye.

"Come on," the words stung Gaul's tongue as he spoke them. "We'll see ya later Earl."

A folly attempt at comfort. As the three exited the lab the door hissed and sealed behind them.

"We're leavin' him…" Red murmured, uncomfortable with what they were doing.

"We'll die if we stay." Gaul scowled.

"Not right." Skiv threw in; even the silent one had a conscience. He knew this was wrong.

Hell, this entire facility was _wrong_.

"I know we gotta leave," Red replied as they rounded a corner and hurried towards the elevator. "Yeah he's an idiot but fuck, whaddaya think they're gonna do to him?"

Gaul smashed his hand down on the button to summon the elevator. Apparently someone had used it and it was all the way back up at the top. Inside his helmet, Gaul was gritting his teeth and trying to ignore what was left of his soul that was shouting at him to go back for Earl. "I don't fuckin' know." Gaul pivoted and looked at Red. "I'm tryin' not to think about it."

There was a scream, a horrible piercing shriek that should, in all righteousness. have belonged to a woman. But they knew it was Earl. There was commotion down the hallway, scientists parting out of the way until a half-naked man barrelled around the corner.

It was Earl – of course it was. He looked up at Gaul, his young face boring into the commanding marine. He was half the age of Gaul, probably barely out of his teens. His eyes were a soft blue, and his hair a dirty blond. He was out of his armor, something all three of them found confusing.

"How the hell…" Red questioned, readying his weapon.

Earl desperately scrambled to Gaul, clinging to his massive boot like a life line. All that cockiness was gone from Earl; he was terrified of whatever they were going to do.

"Gaul!" Earl begged, "For fuck's sake take me with ya! I'll never break another order! I'll never touch another device as long as I…" He trailed off as the soft click of boots alerted him to his pursuer.

88 was standing there, aqua lenses digging into him. She noted how both Gaul and Red had grabbed their weapons, how none of them were flinching. Gaul was trying desperately to tear his eyes away from Earl's petrified face.

"Please…" Earl was nearly in tears.

The lift reached the bottom, the doors hissed and opened.

Gaul weighed their chances – get into the lift, shut the door. Could she kill all of them? Would she?

The answer to both was yes.

Skiv looked at Gaul and Red. Gaul looked back at him. Red kept his eyes and his gun trained on the woman. Maybe if he was lucky, a bullet would hit her. Gaul nodded to his fellow marine and watched as the silent one bent down and gently picked up the frantic man.

He was elated. He was going to be free.

"W-what…" Earl's eyes widened as Skiv did what the other two couldn't. He began to step towards 88. "N-no! Skiv! No!"

Skiv stopped in front of the ghost. He didn't have much trouble with the squirming man; without his power suit Earl didn't have the strength to tear himself free of Skiv's grip.

"Make him kneel." 88 spoke, no sympathy in her tone.

"No! Fuck no! Help! Somebody!"

Skiv brought Earl back down and forced him onto his knees. The marine held him there, unflinching. Unable to move, all Red and Gaul could do was watch. 88 stepped closer, a small disc like device in her hand. She grabbed Earl behind the neck and held him steady, then flipped a switch on the device.

"Guys!"

"Gaul…" Red whispered.

But Gaul couldn't speak. He watched as the assassin placed the disc on the back of Earl's head and it came to life. Earl's terrified, pleading screams became ones of horror and agony. The contraption shot pins into his skull, planting itself there as it began digging into his brain.

They could hear it, the whirl of the drill bit and the grinding noise it made as it dug into and through his skull.

Skiv released him and let him flail on the floor, desperately grabbing at the device planted on his head.

88 watched behind her mask, unflinching, and apparently deaf to the screams of the idiotic marine.

Earl slowed and then stopped. The light on the device flickered from red to green and Earl just laid on the floor in the fetal position. His breathing steadied and he didn't seem to care about the blood on his hands or the currents of it running down his neck.

"Get up." 88 ordered, and he did so. He stood up. Didn't run, didn't fight.

"What… the fuck…" Red muttered, shaken to his core as the once fighting Earl had been pacified.

"Go back to the Professor."

Earl moaned and then shuffled off.

The ghost looked back at the duo as Gaul gestured for Skiv to join them.

Without a word they all stepped onto the elevator and held their breath until they reached the top. They didn't utter a word to each other as they made their way back to the entrance, they didn't greet the pilots; they just took their seats and waited for the dropship to lift off.

It was the longest hour of their entire lives.


End file.
